


Zombies In Riverdale!

by rinithereject



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), zombies - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Other, Riverdale, Zombie Apocalypse, zombies in riverdale!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-10-19 14:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10642161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinithereject/pseuds/rinithereject
Summary: A strange incident at the town hospital results in Riverdale being infested with zombies. The students of Riverdale High were safe inside the school. Or so they thought. Our story follows Cheryl Blossom and Betty Cooper on their journey to save their siblings, Veronica Lodge out to find out what happened to her mother, all the while trying to tell the person she loves about her feelings, Archie Andrews on his way to find his lost love while battling inner demons, Jughead Jones on his quest to stay alive-and maybe write a thing or two along the way, and a few other loved characters, including Josie McCoy, Kevin Keller, Reggie Mantle, Josie McCoy, Joaquin, Dilton Doiley in the midst of it all. Join them on this epic adventure as they kill zombies and try to uncover the truth about what caused all of this (and please forgive me for this shitty description I suck at this)





	1. We've Seen Enough Movies To Know How This Goes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inevera13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inevera13/gifts).



> Thank you, Lara, for encouraging me to post this on here, sending me your opinions and thoughts and helping me write this story. I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for being you and making me smile with your ever present sunshine-y personality. This one is for you. I love you. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Riverdale or any of the characters that appear in this story. This is merely a work of fan fiction. Nothing in this story, except the plot and a few original characters, is mine.

Archie was in the bathroom when it happened. He was washing his hands when he heard the familiar crackle over the intercom followed by Principal Weatherbee’s voice, asking all the students to report to the gym.

Archie furrowed his eye brows and slung his bag further up his shoulder before stepping into the hallway. It was extremely crowded, every student looking as confused as Archie felt. It wasn’t usual for them to be called for a school-wide assembly during class hours.

The human torrent of students slowly moved into the gym and Archie immediately noticed Betty and Veronica standing near the back of the room. They waved at him as he made his way over to them.

“Do you guys know what’s going on?” Archie asked, leaning against the wall.

“No, but something’s definitely wrong.” Betty said. “My mom just sent me this.” She held her phone out and Archie leaned over to read the text.

 

_Stay where you are. I’m coming to get you.  _

 

Archie frowned. “What do you think is going on?” He asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s some political thing.” Veronica said. “My mom sent me this.” She mimicked Betty’s actions from before, holding her phone out.

 

_Ronnie, please be careful. I’m trying to get to your school but they’re everywhere. Please hang on, Mija, I’ll be there as soon as I can._

 

Archie inhaled sharply. “Woah.”

Veronica slipped the phone back into her pocket, biting her lip. It was obvious she was internally freaking out. Betty slipped an arm around her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay, Ronnie. It’s probably nothing.” Betty reassured her. “Don’t worry.”

Veronica nodded shakily in response.

Archie pulled his own phone out and his heart began to pound when he saw that he had five missed calls and two texts from his dad. He swallowed the lump in his throat before opening them.

 

_Archie, I don’t think I’m gonna make it, son._

_I love you. Be safe._

“Guys, look.” He showedthem the messages and the expression on their faces reflected his worry. Betty took a deep breath. “Okay, I know it looks like something is really wrong but we just need to remain calm, okay?” She tried for a smile but it was clear she was scared too.

Archie looked around at everyone in the gym. They all wore the same expressions, mirroring what Archie was feeling.

_Worry._

_Concern._

_Confusion._

_Fear._

Kevin ran up to them a while later, a frenzied look on his face. “Guys, something happened!”

But before he could elaborate, there was a massive screech of the microphone and Weatherbee’s voice boomed out. “Okay, now, settle down, kids. Settle down. I know you’re all curious but chattering about it isn’t going to help.”

Jughead walked over to where the rest of them stood, just as a hush fell over the room.

Principal Weatherbee cleared his throat before he spoke. “Okay, so, some of you probably got some texts or calls from your parents. I know you’re all confused or scared but there’s no need to be. You’re safe in here.”

“Excuse me, Principal Weatherbee.” The lilting voice of Cheryl Blossom interrupted him. “Are you trying to tell us it’s not safe out there?”

“I—that isn’t what I was going to say—“ Principal Weatherbee looked flustered, which wasn’t something that happened often.

“Well, it doesn’t matter what you were going to say!” It was Kevin who interrupted him this time. “It isn’t safe out there!”

“Kev, what are you talking about?” Archie asked him as everyone turned to stare.

“My dad told me what’s going on outside.” Kevin said, walking over to take the mic out of Weatherbee’s hands as everyone watched with wide eyes.

“There was an incident at the Riverdale Central Hospital.” Kevin began. “They don’t know exactly what happened there yet—but that’s where it began.”

Archie was surprised that Weatherbee hadn’t yanked the mic out of Kevin’s hands and told him to shut up yet. In fact, he seemed just as intrigued as the rest of them.

 _He doesn’t know the whole story either._  Archie thought and the realization made him uncomfortable. _If the person in charge doesn’t know what was going on, how exactly is it safe in here?_

“There’s something happening around town.” Kevin was now reading off of his phone. “The police got reports of aggressive and violent attacks occurring at and around the hospital late last night—around 3 am—and the officers that went to check it out didn’t come back. When I—uh, my dad—and a couple of other officers went to check it out this morning, they found something that could only be described as gory. There were barely any people at the hospital. The only things left were…” Kevin’s voice wavered. “Blood and corpses.”  

There were more than a few gasps at that, including Archie’s.

_Blood and corpses? What is this, a horror movie?_

“And then they came. A group of eight, four patients, two doctors and two policemen. The ones that went to investigate last night. There was something not quite right about them. It’s hard to describe. They were, in short, zombies.” As soon as Kevin uttered those words, there was a shout of laughter.

“C’mon, man! Stop messing with us!” Some kid yelled but his joking tone seemed to be covering a layer of fear.

“I’m not _messing_ with you.” Kevin snapped and held up his phone. “That’s what my dad told me.”

“And what? Your dad just had the time to fire out a huge, extremely detailed text when he was running from _zombies_?” A girl yelled. There were murmurs of agreement in the crowd.

“Look, I’m just telling you what I know, okay? And the reason my dad texted me everything is because…” Kevin paused, swallowed. “He got bit. And we’ve all seen enough zombie movies to know what comes next.”

The silence filled the room again as Kevin shut his eyes and turned his head down. Archie could see his shoulder shaking, his hand tightening around his phone. After a few moments, Kevin seemed to compose himself. When he looked up again, Archie saw an intensity in his eyes he’d never seen before.

“I don’t know what happened to my dad. But I do know that he thought he was going to die. And he told me what was going on to help me survive whatever the hell is going on. So, that’s what I’m going to do. There’s not much else we can do.” He said.

“Kevin…” Jughead started. “If there were only eight people in the hospital, does that mean…?”

Kevin gave a grim nod. “They’re outside.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh this is my first story on here and I'm hella nervous. Please tell me your opinion, because I value it and it matters to me! Thnks fr rdng.


	2. Let's Get Out

Veronica didn’t know what she expected. Maybe screaming? Fighting? Crying? But none of those happened. There was only silence. Silence so deafening she wanted to curl up into a ball.

“W-What do we do?” Her voice wobbled. It didn’t tend to happen very often.

“I don’t know.” Kevin shook his head. “There’s probably someone coming to get us. We should just stay in here and—“

“Probably?” Cheryl sounded incredulous. “Didn’t your dad alert someone?”

“I don’t know!” Kevin repeated, frustrated. He was about to continue when Principal Weatherbee stepped up to take the mic back. Kevin dramatically rolled his eyes before making his way back to his small group. Betty pulled him into a hug immediately while Jughead awkwardly patted his shoulder.

“We’re going to lock all doors and windows and barricade them. If you haven’t noticed yet, your phones probably don’t have network.” Weatherbee stated.

Veronica pulled her phone out and checked. Sure enough, she did not have a single bar. She bit down on her lip, feeling the worry gnawing at her stomach.

“We don’t have any means to communicate with anyone outside. And we can’t go outside. We don’t know if it’s safe.” Weatherbee said. Veronica couldn’t help rolling her eyes. What was the point of repeating information all of them already knew?

“You’re allowed to go anywhere inside the school building and if you see an unlocked door or window, please shut it.” Weatherbee continued.

“Wait, so, that’s your plan?” Jughead called out.

“Yes.” Weatherbee responded. He sighed, as if wondering why he had accepted this shit job of being a high school principal.

“You just want us to sit in here, waiting for help that may or may not arrive?” Veronica asked.

“Yes.”

“That’s completely stupid.” She said.

Weatherbee raised his eyebrows. “And what would you suggest we do, Ms.Lodge?”

Veronica cleared her throat. “I say we get out of here.”

“Ronnie, you know it isn’t safe out there right now.” Archie said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t mean ‘get out of school’, Archie.” Veronica sighed. “I mean we should get out of Riverdale.”

“And how do you think you’re gonna do that?” Weatherbee said.

“Well, there are plenty of cars to get us all out.” Betty pointed out.

“It isn’t safe out there!” Weatherbee yelled, finally losing his cool. “You’re all just kids studying at my school so you will listen to what I say! You’re going to stay right here until help arrives and that’s the end of it! I don’t care what you want, alright? Now go make yourselves useful!”

Veronica blinked. There was a moment of stunned silence before the students began to quietly shuffle out of the room.

“That was intense.” Archie mumbled as he followed Jughead out. Veronica nodded in agreement. They wandered around the school for a while, not entirely sure what they were supposed to do. Archie kept poking his head into classrooms but didn’t tell the others what—or more probably, who—he was looking for. Eventually, they came back to the gym, which was now empty.

Well, almost empty.

Cheryl, Josie and Reggie were busy clearing the tables stacked at the back door when Jughead, Archie, Betty, Veronica and Kevin stepped in.

“What are you guys doing?” Archie asked, scowling.

Cheryl surreptitiously stepped in front of the door. “Nothing.”

“Really?” Jughead raised his eyebrows at her. “Because it looks like you’re opening the door.”

“I have to.” Cheryl sighed. “JJ is out there.”

“What?” Betty exclaimed. “Doesn’t he know what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I can’t talk to him, obviously.” She lifted her shoulders. “He didn’t come to school today. He’s out with Polly.”

Veronica turned to look at Betty, who looked as if she was going to throw up. She felt her own stomach flip. 

“He’s out with Polly?!” Betty shrieked.

Cheryl rolled her eyes. “That is what I just said, isn’t it?”

“Oh my god.” Betty covered her face, breathing heavily.

“Betty, hey, hey.” Veronica pulled her into her arms, running her hands over her back in an attempt to calm her down. “It’s okay, we’ll figure something out, Bets.”

Betty held on to her tightly, her breaths coming out in short, uneven puffs.

“Betty, you can’t have a meltdown now, alright?” Veronica tried her best to make her voice soothing. “Deep breaths, come on. Deep breaths.”

Betty slowly calmed down, her breaths getting more even. Veronica gently pulled away from her, searching her face to make sure she was okay. Betty nodded, as if sensing her thoughts. Veronica gave her a reassuring smile in response.

“Thank god that gag-fest is over. Now, how about you get out of here?” Reggie said, rolling her eyes.

“No way.” Betty shook her head, stepping forward. “I’m coming with you.”

“No.” Josie said firmly.

“You don’t get to decide that.” Betty snapped at her. “My sister is out there so I’m going.”

Josie opened her mouth to retort but Cheryl held up her hand to silence her.

“Of course you can come, Betty.” She smiled. “But if you slow us down, we will ditch you.”

“I won’t.” Betty said.

“Well, I’ll go with you too.” Veronica said.

“Uh, why?” Reggie asked, frowning at her.

“Because my mom’s out there too.” She explained. “And also because Betty.”

Betty smirked at her and Veronica winked back.

“Wait…um, Josie, have you seen Valerie?” Archie asked. “I can’t find her anywhere.”

Josie pursed her lips. “No.”

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Archie asked. 

Josie rolled her eyes. “I mean no, I have not seen her, Andrews.” 

“Wait, you mean she isn’t in school?” Archie looked panicked. “Where is she, then?”

“I don’t know!” Josie sighed. “The girls and I had a fight. I haven’t spoken to any of them for a while.”

“Oh, god.” Archie mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

“Archie, it’s okay.” Veronica tried to sound reassuring. “Maybe she’s still inside the school?”

“She isn’t.” He mumbled. “I was looking for her all morning.”

“Shit.” Veronica whispered.

“Okay, so, I’m coming too.” Archie said.

“Oh, for fucks sake.” Reggie looked frustrated. “Why don’t we just take the whole school then?”

“Shut up, Reggie.” Veronica glared at him. “Why are you going anyway?”

“Because I don’t want to be in here.” He said. “I agree with what you said before. We can’t just sit around here doing nothing.”

“And what do you think you can do about it, O Great Reggie?” Jughead rolled his eyes at him.

“I don’t know, Donnie Darko, but I sure as hell am not staying here.” Reggie snarled back.

“Okay, okay, guys, can we just calm down for a second?” Betty intervened, holding her hands up.

“She’s right. We can’t keep fighting each other.” Josie agreed..

“So, it’s settled then. All of us are going?” Cheryl raised her eyebrows.

“No.” Kevin, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, spoke up. “I’m not going.” 

“Kev, don’t you want to know exactly what happened?” Veronica asked, knitting her eyebrows together.

“I do.” He responded calmly. “But what you guys are doing is fucking stupid.”

“Kevin?” Betty looked concerned. Veronica was too. Kevin was acting very….un-Kevin.

“Did you not listen to anything I said before?” Kevin demanded, his voice harsh. “If you go out there, you will die or you will become a…a zombie.!And it’s more likely than not that all those people out there are dead too.”

“Kevin, you don’t mean that.” Archie tried to reason with him, reaching out to touch his shoulder. Kevin shrugged him off and pushed his way out of the group.

“You can do whatever the fuck you want.” Kevin snarled at all of them. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

And with that, he turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. Betty began to follow him but Veronica pulled her back, grabbing her hand.

“Betty, don’t. He’s angry and he’s hurt. His dad died.” Veronica said quietly. “He just needs some time, okay?”

Betty pursed her lips, staring at Kevin’s retreating figure. She shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts. 

“You’re right.” She said, turning back to Veronica.”But someone has to stay with him.” 

All of them looked at each other, secretly willing the others to volunteer. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Jughead finally came forward. He let out an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes. “I’ll stay with him.” 

“Jug, are you sure?” Archie asked, raising his eyebrows at him. 

Jughead nodded in response. He turned to leave but was quickly tackled into a hug by Betty. He hugged her back,his skinny arms wrapping around her. “Be safe out there, Bets.” He mumbled. Then he turned to Veronica, giving her a hug as well although this one lasted for 0.45 seconds. He turned to Archie, a grin on his face. 

“Bro.” said Jughead seriously. 

“Shut up.” Archie mumbled, pulling him into a hug. Veronica couldn’t help but smile. They were so adorable. Too bad Archie had a girlfriend and the only thing Jughead ever loved was the burger from Pop’s. 

Jughead finally pulled away and stepped back to face the group. “Good luck.” He said, nodding at them. He gave them a little salute before walking away in the direction Kevin had. 

“Now that all that unnecessary drama is over, can we go?” Cheryl asked, jerking her thumb at the door. The others simply nodded in response.

“Good.” Cheryl said, opening the door, and led them to the adventure of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a bit of a filler chapter but more interesting stuff is definitely on its way! Please let me know what you think because I love and appreciate feedback! Thnks fr rdng.


	3. The Badasses

In all the years that she’d lived in Riverdale, Betty had never seen the town like this. It had always looked the same, with its picture perfect streets and houses and shops. The town with pep, indeed.

Betty looked around, feeling bile rise up in her throat at the site. The walls splattered with blood, the ripped clothes lying around, the corpses.

“Oh my god.” Reggie whispered. He looked as if he was going to faint.

“Let’s just keep moving.” Veronica muttered in a hushed whisper. The others began to follow her, moving in a tight-knit group. Betty wondered how out of place they must look in the situation, in their bright clothes and clean skin.

“Where are we going, exactly?” Archie asked, as they began to walk along one of the main roads.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think that far ahead.” Cheryl responded, keeping her voice low. Betty was about to ask her what the actual fuck she was thinking when Cheryl stopped abruptly, making Josie run into her.

“Girl, why couldn’t you—“ Josie began but Cheryl shushed her, waving her hand frantically.

“Do you hear that?” She asked, her eyes wide.

“What are you talking about?” Betty asked, frowning.

“Shhh!” Cheryl hissed. “Listen!”

And so they did. For a moment, Betty was absolutely sure that Cheryl had finally lost it. But then she heard it too. The low, faint groaning and what sounded like something heavy being dragged around, the volume increasing slowly by the second.

“What is that?!” Veronica whisper-yelled.

“Maybe it’s someone who needs help?” Josie suggested.

“Or maybe it’s a fucking zombie that’s going to eat our brains.” Reggie said.

“Shh, shut up!” Archie said. “Let’s just go look.”

“Archie, are you crazy?” Veronica shrieked. “We can’t go there! They might actually be zombies!”

“Or it could be Valerie! Or Polly or Jason or our parents!” Archie argued.

“We don’t even have anything to defend ourselves with!” Reggie joined in.

“Okay, you guys stay here, then.” Archie grumbled. “I’ll go.”

“I’ll go with you.” Cheryl said quickly. Archie nodded at her, straightening up.

“Me too.” Betty said. She didn’t particularly want to go. But if it was Polly…

“You are all crazy.” Reggie rolled his eyes. Betty shrugged at him, before turning to Archie and Cheryl.

“Just me and the gingers, I guess.” Betty smiled, shrugging. Both of them rolled their eyes in unison.

“Let’s just keep quiet and move slowly.” Cheryl said, walking towards the source of the noise, which increased with each step. Betty and Archie followed, trying to keep their footsteps soft.

“What if they are actually zombies, though?” Archie asked.

“Well, then we don’t move slowly.” Cheryl rolled her eyes again.

“Noted.” Archie mumbled.

“Hey, look!” Betty whispered, before running over to pick up a pocket knife dropped next to a dumpster.

“Yes!” Archie gushed, reaching to take it out of her hands.

“Woah, back off!” Betty said, holding the small knife close to her chest. “Finders keepers.”

“Seriously?” Archie gave her an incredulous look. Betty simply shrugged in response. He groaned before leaning over the dumpster.

“What are you doing?” Cheryl wrinkled her nose.

“Say we do run into zombies.” Archie said, rooting through the piles of garbage. “We would need some sort of weapon to—Aha!” He stood back up, revealing a cracked mirror. He hurled it at the ground, making Cheryl shriek a little as it broke into pieces. He reached into the dumpster again, grabbing an old, dirty shirt. Betty watched as he ripped it into two, his muscles flexing. He reached down to grab two of the bigger shards of glass, wrapping them in the cloth. He stood back up, handing one to Cheryl.

“Make-shift knife.” He grinned. “Use it well.”

“Smart.” Cheryl said, tying the cloth around the shard carefully. “Let’s go.”

But, as it turned out, they didn’t have to go very far. While they were busy with their ‘weapons’, they hadn’t noticed that the sound was much closer. So close, in fact, that as soon as they turned a corner, they were face-to-face with a man they knew all too well: 

Principal Weatherbee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, sorry! But it was necessary so nvm. Thnks fr rdng.


	4. Chapter 4: High Heels, Pepper Spray and A Wooden Plank

“What the actual fuck?” Cheryl was the first to speak, as she stared at Principal Weatherbee in disbelief. Betty felt the same way. What the hell was Weatherbee doing out here? Especially after he yelled at them to stay inside? Was this even Weatherbee? Did he have an identical twin she didn’t know about?

“Language, Ms.Blossom.” Weatherbee said, his voice strained. His hand clutched his shoulder, blood staining his shirt. Betty had a vague idea of what might have happened to his shoulder.

“Okay, now is really not the time for you to say that.” Betty said.

“Principal Weatherbee, what are you doing out here?” Archie demanded.

“I think the better question is, what are the three of you doing here?” He asked.

“Tough luck, Principal Weatherbee. You don’t get to ask the questions here.” Cheryl snapped.

Weatherbee looked at each of them and when his eyes locked into Betty’s, she felt a chill run down her spine. Weatherbee’s usual cold brown eyes were tinged red and she could sense a sort of anger in them. Or was it hunger?

“Fine.” He said, sighing. “I got out of the school to try and escape.”

“Escape?” Betty repeated.

“Zombie apocalypses aren’t controlled. It’s likely someone inside the school is affected too. So…I ran.” He said.

“Someone inside the school is affected?!” Archie exclaimed.

“I said it’s likely, not that I was sure.” Weatherbee responded. “I wanted to give myself my best chance. I mean, it’s only a matter of time before a bunch of kids break out. And when they do…it’s gonna attract all those zombies and I won’t make it. I needed to escape.”

“So you left all those kids in there?” Betty said in disbelief.

“Well, yes. I had to watch out for myself first.” Weatherbee said.

“You disgust me.” Cheryl spat. “You were supposed to keep us safe. You were supposed to be in charge. What was the point of the speech, then? Pretending like you actually cared about us? You don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself. You’re nothing but a selfish coward.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, Ms. Blossom.” Weatherbee gave them a cruel smile. “Now how about you go your way and I go mine?”

“Well, we can’t really let you do that now, can we?” Betty looked pointedly at his shoulder. “You’ve been bit.”

“So? What does it matter to you?” Weatherbee avoided her eyes.

“Well, for one, you could go crazy and come after us.” Betty said.

“Well, what should we do?” Archie asked. “I mean…we can’t kill him.”

“No, we can’t.” Said Cheryl. “But we can lock him up.”

“Excuse me?” Principal Weatherbee took a step back, as if he was legitimately scared of three skinny teenagers.

“You know, that isn’t a bad idea.” Betty said, playing along and titling her head. “But where would we put him?”

“We could throw him in the dustbin.” Archie suggested, trying to hide his grin. “I mean, he does belong there.”

“You will do no such thing!” Weatherbee shouted.

“Calm your tits, Principal Weatherbee.” Cheryl rolled her eyes. “That was a joke.”

“Oh.”

“Just don’t run into us again.” Betty said. She turned to her friends. “Let’s head back.”

They nodded in response and the three of them began to make their way back.

“Wait, you’re just leaving me here?!” Weatherbee yelled after them.

“Yup!” Cheryl responded, sticking her middle finger out at him and smiling.

When they got back to where they’d left Veronica, Reggie and Josie, they realized things weren’t the same as they had been when they left. For one, Reggie had a bloody wooden plank in his hand and Veronica had heels in her hand as well, blood visibly dripping from the pointy ends and Josie had what appeared to be a can of pepper spray in her hand. Their clothes were splattered with blood, and oh, there were two dead bodies lying near them.

“Oh my god!” Betty exclaimed, running over to Veronica. “What happened?”

“Zombies.” Veronica said.

“And you…killed them?” Cheryl seemed genuinely impressed, which wasn’t an easy task to accomplish.

“Yeah.” Reggie shrugged.

“With…heels, pepper spray and a wooden plank?” Archie looked at them in surprise.

“Yeah.” Josie said. “We just reacted quickly, I guess.”

“Woah.” Archie mumbled. “I mean, woah, that’s insane! And also sort of extremely amazing.”

“Duh.” Veronica flipped her hair. “And you thought you were the badasses for investigating.”

“What did you guys find, anyway?” Reggie asked.

“Just Principal Weatherbee.” Archie said.

“What?” Josie’s mouth dropped open. “He left?”

“Yeah.” Archie rolled his eyes. “He’s a fucking asshole.”

“So where should we go now?” Betty asked, looking around at them.

“Thornhill.” Cheryl said. “That’s definitely the place JJ would go to be safe. Polly will most probably be with him.”

“Yeah, I agree.” Betty said, nodding her head.

“Okay, but we probably need a weapon that isn’t just…what we have now.” Veronica said, digging around in her bag. Betty didn’t even realize she had it. Her own bag was probably lying around somewhere back at the school.

“You’re right.” Reggie said, nodding. “We were able to kill two zombies but I don’t think we’d be able to handle, say, a dozen.”

“Well, what should we do?” Archie asked.

“We have guns at Thornhill.” Cheryl said, making everyone whip their heads toward her.

“Look, this is great for our situation but…why do you have guns at your house?” Josie asked.

“It’s for situations like this. Emergencies.” Cheryl explained. “I mean, when you’re the richest family in Riverdale, you’re going to make some enemies. And you need to learn how to defend yourself against them.”

“That makes sense, I guess.” Archie mumbled.

“So how many guns do you have?” Veronica asked, wiping the blood off her heels with a tissue. She looked like superhero cleaning up after slaying the villains. Which was sort of what she did. But with her heels. How badass could one person get?

“Four, I think.” Cheryl said. “Mom and Dad had one each and Nana Rose had one. I think we might have an extra.”

“Okay, I can shoot and since Cheryl’s family owns guns, I’m assuming she can too. Who else can shoot a gun?” Veronica asked, looking at the rest of them.

Cheryl nodded and Betty assumed that meant she could shoot.

“Wait, you can shoot a gun? Why?” Archie asked, staring at Veronica with wide eyes.

“My mom taught me.” Veronica shrugged. “So, anyone?”

“I think I can?” Betty said, making Veronica’s eyes dart to her. She blushed at the impressed look on the raven haired girl’s face. “I mean, I took archery lessons for a while. And I’ve always been pretty good at those shooting games. So…yeah, that’s better than nothing I guess.”

“It is.” Veronica grinned at her.

“Alright then.” Cheryl said. “To Thornhill.”

“Wait, are we walking all the way?” Archie asked. “Because there are a lot of abandoned cars lying around.”

“What if the sound attracts the zombies though?” Betty asked.

“We’ll just run them over.” Reggie rolled his eyes. “I’m too tired to walk.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Josie said, snorting.

“Okay, so do we just—like—get in a car and go?” Veronica looked questioningly at Archie.

“Uh, yeah, I guess.” Archie walked over to a minivan left with most of the doors open. He poked his head in and turned back to the group. “They keys are still in. Let’s go.”

“I’ll drive.” Cheryl said, going over to the driver’s seat. Josie sat next to her and Archie and Reggie sat in the middle.

Veronica climbed into the backseat and Betty quickly followed.

“Oh, wait, Cheryl.” Veronica leaned forward toward Cheryl. “Could you stop by a store? I could use some shoes.”

Betty looked down at Veronica’s feet and realized they were bare. Veronica caught Betty staring and grinned. “Got a foot fetish, Betty?”

“Yes.” Betty responded, rolling her eyes. “Your feet are magnificent, Ronnie.”

“I knew it!” Veronica giggled and nudged her.

“Shut up.” Betty mumbled, smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make me day so leave one! Chapter 5 will be up soon! Thnks fr rdng


	5. The Zombie In The Room

Jughead had never seen Kevin cry before. Well, he had seen him cry when they were little kids but in recent times, not really. Watching him cry was like seeing a puppy being kicked repeatedly _: H_ _eartbreaking._

Jughead didn’t know what to do or say in situations like these, so he settled for sitting down next to Kevin and slinging an arm around his shoulder for comfort. He waited until Kevin’s sobs resided to small whimpers.

“I can’t believe I’m asking this but are you okay, Kevin?” Jughead asked. There wasn’t much else he could say.

“Fine.” Kevin said harshly. “Actually, wait, no, I’m not. My dad’s dead and, now, my friends probably are too.”

“We don’t know that.” Said Jughead quickly.

Kevin rolled his eyes. “Come on, Jug, you’re a smart guy. You know they made a stupid decision going out there.”

“You don’t mean that.” Jughead said. He knew Kevin was right, of course. While he didn’t think sitting around inside the school was a good idea, he knew that going outside was even worse. His friends had no plan, no clear view of where they were heading, no weapons and no idea what was actually out there. Just the thought of it made his head swim. He almost pulled out his phone to call Archie when he remembered: The cell phone towers were down. Fuck.

“You’re right.” Kevin said, after a long pause. “I don’t mean it.” He looked down and sniffled. Jughead realized he was crying again.

“I’m sorry.” Kevin said, swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m just….I can’t deal with all of this at the same time and I—“ The rest of his sentence dissolved into unintelligible muttering.

“Kevin, it’s okay to be upset.” Jughead said, patting his back. “We all are.”

Kevin nodded. “Okay, okay, I’m done.” He inhaled deeply. “Alright, I’m good, let’s head to the lounge and see what’s going on.”

“Sure.” Jughead stood up and pulled Kevin to his feet. “You sure you’re good, Keller?”

“Yeah.” Kevin mustered a smile. “I’ll be okay.”

Jughead returned the smile before the boys made their way to the lounge. As expected, the majority of the student population had crammed into the lounge. When Jughead and Kevin entered, all eyes immediately darted to them. Jughead shifted, uncomfortable with all the attention. Kevin rolled his eyes. “Take a picture, darlings. It’ll last longer.” He sauntered over to a couch and two freshmen scurried off of it, even though he hadn’t even said anything. Jughead sat down next to him, half amused and half self-conscious.

As Jughead cast his gaze over the room, people looked away, as if they just realized he could look at them too. He rolled his eyes, turning to Kevin. “Um, who exactly do we talk to?” He asked.

“I don’t know.” Kevin replied. “I don’t really know what I was expecting with this.”

“Maybe just try talking to people, in general?” Jughead suggested. Kevin shrugged and nodded, immediately turning to a girl standing next to him. Jughead looked around until he found someone to decide to talk to. His eyes fell on Melody Valentine, the drummer for Josie and the Pussycats and her best friend, Lara Gibson. He stood up and made his way over to them.

“Hey.” He said, leaning on the wall next to them.

“Hey, Jughead!” Lara smiled at him, blushing a little. She had had a crush on him for as long as he could remember, though neither of them had ever spoken about it. “What’s up?”

“Um, nothing much, I guess, except maybe you know, the zombie apocalypse and stuff.” He shrugged nonchalantly, making Lara laugh.

“But do you think it’s actually a zombie apocalypse though?” She asked. “I mean, from what Kevin’s dad said, the whole thing started at like 3 AM or something right? That means it’s been less than twelve hours since it started. I mean, maybe it’s the end of Riverdale but surely, it’s not the end of the world.”

Jughead nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Besides, we’re inside the school. No one’s infected in here so most of us are safe. Maybe it isn’t the end of Riverdale after all.”

Jughead had barely finished the sentence when a low growl erupted from Lara’s other side. He leaned over to look at Melody, who was hunched over, her long, bleached hair hiding her face. As he watched, along with the other students, Melody continued to make un-human noises, growling and moaning as her body twitched. After about five minutes, during which the only sounds to be heard were the noises coming from her body, Melody Valentine stood up properly, and lifted her head. And all hell broke loose.

With a noise coming out of her body not unlike that of an angry gorilla, the girl flung herself at a student standing next to her. Her teeth clamped down on the boy’s shoulder as he screamed in agony. And it was like a spell had been broken. Every single person in the room was suddenly moving, pushing and shoving to get to the door.

Jughead’s wide eyes went from the horrifying scene unfolding to Lara, who was trembling right next to him. Her eyes met his through the crowd and she let out a terrified laugh. “Famous last words, Jughead.” She said.

“Run.” He whispered. He turned away from her, his eyes going right to the door. There was no way he could make it there. Even if he did get to the door, it was way too crowded to make it out. He started sprinting towards the window instead, pushing people out of his way as Lara followed him.

“Go, go, go, go!” Jughead yelled, practically pushing Lara out the window once he got there. She let out a shriek as she landed with a thud on the other side. Jughead hoisted himself up on the windowsill and looked around the room. Kevin was sitting exactly where Jughead had left him, staring at Melody in horror.

“KEVIN!” Jughead shouted as loud as he could. “KEVIN! OVER HERE!”

He hoped that the other boy could hear him over the noise and thankfully, he did. Kevin looked at Jughead, who gestured frantically at him to come over. He stood up and half-stumbled his way over to Jughead.

“Come on.” Jughead said, helping Kevin through the window.

He was just about to jump down to the other side when he felt something tug at his foot. He looked down—and screamed immediately when he saw Melody’s blood-splattered face.

“Fuck!” He yelled, kicking at her face with his other foot. “Get off! Get off! Fuck!”

She didn’t seem to feel pain, as she continued to try and bite him. So far, she wasn’t very lucky. Jughead mustered all of his strength and kicked at her neck. She finally fell back and he quickly jumped out of the window. He turned back immediately to slam it closed. As he looked through the glass, he realized that most of his classmates had made it through the door.

As a senior made her way out the door, she looked back at Melody and quickly slammed it closed. Jughead didn’t realize what was going on until the people left in the room started screaming. She’d locked everyone else—maybe about  a dozen people—in. With the zombie. He watched, horrified, as Melody staggered over to a girl. He saw her pounce, her mouth opening to reveal teeth coated with blood—

“Jughead!” Kevin tugged at his arm, forcing him to look away. “We need to go!”

“Where do we go?” Jughead asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe we could head to the police station?” He suggested.

“Why?”

“I-I don’t know, Jug! Maybe my dad will be there or other police officers could be there.” He said.

“Okay.” Jughead said. He turned towards Lara, who was curled up in a ball and crying quietly.

“Lara.” He tried to make his voice soothing but it came out urgent. “We need to go, okay? We can’t stay here.”

“What about Melody?” Lara asked, lifting her tear-stained face.

“I-Lara, you just saw what happened in there.” Kevin said. “She’s….she’s a zombie.”

“But that can’t be right.” Lara’s lip trembled. “She can’t—she can’t be a z-zombie!”

“Lara, I’m really sorry but we need to go.” Jughead said. “Get up, come on.”

Kevin helped him pull her to her feet. “We’re gonna go to the police station now, okay?” He said.

“Okay.” Lara nodded jerkily. “But I need to throw up first.” She stumbled away from them, to a nearby bush. All Jughead could see was her hunched over form as she vomited.

“So, what do we say to her?” Jughead asked Kevin. “There isn’t much you can say to a person whose best friend just turned into a zombie.”

“Then we don’t say anything.” Kevin shrugged. “If she wants to talk, she’ll talk.”

“But what if I don’t want to talk?” Jughead protested but Kevin quickly shushed him, noticing that Lara was making her way back.

“Do you guys have any water?” Lara asked, wiping her glasses on her shirt.

“Um, no.” said Jughead, holding up his empty hands.

“We could just go back into the school and get some water, along with food and stuff.” Kevin suggested.

Jughead stared at him. “Are you serious?”

“I think that’ll work.” Lara said. “Mel—the zombie is probably still in the lounge anyway.” She pressed her face to the glass window and quickly looked away. “Yup, she’s in there.”

“But what if there are more?” Jughead asked, crossing his arms.

“We’ll run.” Kevin shrugged.

Jughead groaned and followed Kevin and Lara into the school, through the actual entrance this time. The only things they could hear in the empty hallways were the dripping of a water fountain, hushed whispers, the growling of zombies in the distance and their own footsteps.

“Where is everyone?” Lara whispered, sticking a little too close to Jughead.

“They probably left.” Jughead shrugged, subtly stepping away from her. “Or they’re all holed up in one room and crying.”

“It’s probably the second one.” Kevin said. “These kids aren’t necessarily smart.”

“Alright, let’s split up.” Jughead said.

Lara groaned. “Seriously? Have you never seen a horror movie?”

“We need to save time.” Jughead rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.” She mumbled.

“Okay, so, Lara, you get us as many bottles of water as you can. Kevin, you get into the cafeteria and get us whatever you can. And I’ll break the vending machines and get us some stuff. If you need anything from your lockers, get that too. Also, bring a backpack and if you have them, some extra clothes. Let’s meet back here in about 15 minutes.” Jughead said.

“Um, hang on, couldn’t we literally just steal clothes and food from anywhere?” Lara asked.

“We could.” Kevin said. “But that’s, you know, _wrong_.”

“But it’s a zombie apocalypse.” Lara protested. “Also, I want cute clothes.”

“Lara.” Said Jughead. “ _Sort out your fucking priorities._ ”

He walked away, making his way to his locker first. He grabbed his backpack, getting all of his textbooks out. He shoved a shirt, a pair of jeans and underwear inside along with all of the packaged food he had, which wasn’t much. He grabbed his laptop bag as well, which contained his chargers and headphones as well. Living at school had _one_ advantage, after all. He grabbed a particularly think textbook before slamming his locker shut.

He ransacked two vending machines, taking only what he guessed they would need. Lara was right, after all. They could just steal things from supermarkets if they needed to.

He was early to their rendezvous, so he sat down and waited. A voice crackled over the intercom. He recognized it as his English teacher’s. “Everyone or whoever is still inside, please get to the gym as soon as possible. Please do not open the door to the Student Lounge or the Biology lab. I repeat, go to the gym. Do not open the doors to the student lounge or the biology lab. Do not leave the school.  Stay inside and stay safe.”

“So that’s where everyone went.” Lara said as she came to sit next to him.

“Yeah.” Jughead said. “So, are you okay?”

Lara shrugged, looping her arms over her knees. “Not really.” She sighed, a faraway look on her face. “Did you know I was in love with Melody?”

“Um, no.” Jughead said. He wished Kevin was here, he would know exactly how to react what to say.

“Yeah, well, I was.” Lara sniffled. “And I never got to tell her how I feel.”

“That’s too bad.” Jughead said, staring at his feet. “You would’ve made a cute couple.”

“Definitely.” Lara laughed, wiping her eyes. “We would’ve been relationship goals.”

“It really is too bad.” Jughead said. _What else should I say?? How do people do this talking thing all the time?_

“I should’ve just told her.” Lara sighed. “But I was too scared and instead, I panicked and told her I liked you. And we all know how well that rumor spread.”

“Wait, so you don’t actually like me?” Jughead asked, relieved.

“Nope.” Lara said. “I like girls.”

“Oh, thank God.” Said Jughead. At her offended expression, he quickly backtracked. "I mean, I don’t like you either. Or anyone. I mean, I do like people in a friendly way. What I’m trying to say is…I’m aromantic and asexual.”

“Oh. That’s cool.” Lara smiled. “I thought you were dating Betty though.”

“Betty? No way. We’re just really good friends.” Jughead responded. “Also, she’s got a huge crush on Ronnie.”

“Oh, yeah, I definitely noticed that.” Lara laughed.

“What are you guys talking about?” Kevin asked, finally showing up.

“Nothing much. Just relationships and stuff.” Jughead shrugged. “Let’s get going.”

Kevin looked like he wanted to say something but apparently decided to save it for later. Jughead and Lara stood up and the three of them made it out the door.

However, if they had stayed inside for just a little longer, they would have heard the sound of a door being broken down, followed by the moans of a zombie, who now had a way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Jughead is aroace. It's who he is and the show fucked up by erasing his identity. Anyway, Chapter 6 will be up soon and please leave a comment, I love feedback! Thnks fr rdng.


	6. Thornhill

Unsurprisingly, they’d barely been driving for 20 minutes when they encountered a zombie. Cheryl slammed on the breaks, coming to a stop a few meters away from it. The zombie didn’t move. The teenagers wordlessly stared at it, waiting for someone to speak up.

This one seemed worse than the others, according to Archie. While the other zombies had pale, sickly skin, this one had decomposing, vaguely light-green skin, as if it was made out of puke and rotten milk. Archie could tell it was a woman, from the curvy body and long, dull blonde hair that looked like it was going to fall out any second. Her— _It’s_ eyes were almost completely black and there was a chunk of flesh missing from its arm.

The zombie wore normal clothes: pair of sneakers, jeans, a shirt and—Archie’s breath caught in his throat. The zombie wore a thin necklace with a cello charm attached to it. Archie could recognize it anywhere.  It was _her_ necklace. His eyes quickly scanned the zombie again and yes, he was sure, it was her. She’d been turned into a zombie.

He felt like he was going to throw up. _What was she doing here? She’d left Riverdale, hadn’t she? After everything that happened that day?_

“What should we do?” Betty asked.

“I...I don’t know.” Reggie mumbled. “It doesn’t seem to be doing anything.”

“Let’s just skirt around it.” Cheryl said.

“No!” Archie said, a little too loudly. The others turned to look at him.

“Well, what do you think we should do?” Josie asked.

“Let’s run it over.” He said.

“Alright.” Cheryl said, turning back to the steering wheel.

“Wait a second…” Veronica was staring at the zombie. “Is that….Ms.Grundy?”

“ _Oh my god_ , it is!” Betty exclaimed, leaning forward to get a better view.

Archie’s heart began to pound in his chest. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just run her over.”

“Seconded.” Said Cheryl.

“Yeah, I’m with Archie on this one.” Reggie agreed.

“But, Archie, wasn’t she your favourite teacher?” Betty frowned at him.

“It doesn’t matter now.” Archie repeated, his voice strained. “Cheryl, run her over.”

“You got it.” Cheryl mumbled.

As the car got closer and closer to what used to be Ms.Grundy, Archie shut his eyes. He felt a hand cover his own and flinched immediately, his mind going to the other time he was touched without consent. Then he realized Reggie was holding his hand and relaxed. Knowing that Reggie was going through something similar, Archie grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The simple moment made him feel warm on the inside.

 Archie felt a slight jerk and heard a heavy thud, followed by loud moaning and growling and another squelchy thud. He opened his eyes and against his better judgement, turned to look at what was left of Ms.Grundy.

Its legs were ripped away, each lying a few feet away from its body. There was so much blood spewing out, along with some sticky black substance. Its neck had twisted violently to the side and there was a gaping hole in its stomach, spewing even more blood and black gunk and what Archie could only guess where its intestines.

But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that, even in its completely damaged state, the zombie was still alive. _Well, as alive as zombies can be._ It crawled towards their car with its arms, its neck jerking grotesquely as it painted the road with its blood.

Archie managed to pull his eyes away, the nauseous sensation intensifying. He realized his hand was still connected to Reggie’s, at the same time the other boy did. Both of them retrieved their hands quickly, blushing a little.

“Reggie…” Archie began quietly. The other boy shook his head, moving away from him. “Forget it, Archie. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Archie bit down on his lip and turned away, deciding that the conversation wasn’t meant to be had in a car full of other people.

“ _So._ ” Said Josie. “That went well.”

“I can’t believe we just killed our teacher.”  Betty mumbled.

“She wasn’t our teacher when we killed her.” Cheryl pointed out. She paused, frowning and then added, “And she wasn’t exactly _alive_ when we killed her either.”

“She was a terrible teacher too.” Josie said. “She gave off this weird vibe.”

“Hmm, yeah, I get that.” Veronica agreed. “She only seemed interested in teaching _certain people_.”

Archie tensed up at the words but forced himself not to look at Veronica, though he could feel her eyes on his back. _Did she know?_

“Are we there yet?” Reggie spoke up.

“Not yet.” Cheryl said. “We’ll arrive in approximately 20 minutes.”

Archie looked out the window, watching the houses go by in a blur. When they got to Thornhill, he was the first one out the door. The others followed and the group shuffled to the front door.

“So, do we break it down?” Archie asked, turning to face them.

“Yeah, we could do that.” Cheryl rolled her eyes. “Or we could just use the key, _you ginger dumbass_.” She stooped to pick up the key, which was concealed under the doormat.

“Yeah, well...” Archie racked his brain for an insult. “So are you!”

“Pitiful.” Cheryl muttered. She unlocked the door and it swung open. She stepped inside and the others followed. Archie looked around at the huge, palatial house. Thornhill had always been a little creepy, with its long hallways and unoccupied rooms. But now, with the lights off and curtains closed, and everything else that was happening, the house was like something out of a horror movie.

“ _So. Fucking. Creepy_.” Josie mumbled, tugging at the hem of her shirt.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Said Reggie. Archie nodded in agreement.

“Jason?” Cheryl called out, ignoring them. “Jason, are you in here?”

There was no response.

“Jason?” Cheryl tried again. “It’s me. Cheryl. Are you here?”

“Polly?” Betty joined in. “Polly? Where are you? Polly?”

No response again.

Betty sighed and hung her head, the disappointment and worry evident on her face. Veronica wrapped an arm around her reassuringly, letting Betty rest her head on her shoulder.  

“Guess they aren’t here.” Cheryl bit down on her lip. “We’ll just have to keep looking.”

“Hey, Cheryl.” Veronica called. “Do you have any clothes I can borrow?”

“Of course, Ronnie.” Cheryl grinned “That dress is killer but it doesn’t exactly scream _zombie-killer_ , no?”

 Cheryl’s smile and sudden switch in emotion seemed a little forced. Archie wondered why she always worked so hard to hide what she was actually feeling.

“Yeah, can I borrow something too?” Josie asked. “This outfit does _not_ deserve to be ruined with blood and guts.”

“Anything for you, Josie.” Cheryl winked. “And I’m _so_ with you on that.”

“Um, so, where are the guns?” Archie asked. 

“They’re in daddy’s room.” Cheryl said. She turned to Veronica and Josie. “How about you guys go get whatever you want from my closet and I go with the others?” She suggested.

“Yeah, that works.” Veronica shrugged.

“Great!” Cheryl smiled. “You know where my room is right?”

“Girl, how many times have I slept over here?” Josie rolled her eyes.

“Right, of course.” Cheryl laughed. “The next room is my closet.”

Veronica and Josie nodded and walked away from the little group.

Archie turned to look at Cheryl. “You have a separate room as your closet?”

“Right.” Cheryl mumbled. “You’re all poor peasants. I forgot.” 

“And you’re just a rich bitch, Cheryl.” Betty snapped back.

Reggie snorted. Archie simply rolled his eyes, not wanting to get into it with her. Also, he was getting really bad at coming up with retorts.

“Follow me, losers.” Cheryl said and began climbing the long, winding staircase. 

Mr. And Mrs. Blossom’s room was painted a dark seductive red and their furniture and bed covers were either black or made of dark brown wood. Archie thought it had great potential to be a sex dungeon.

“Jesus, Cheryl.” Said Reggie. “Why does your entire family have an obsession with red?”

“I would tell you.” Said Cheryl. “But it isn’t really your business.”

“Fair enough.” Reggie mumbled.

“Where are the guns?” Betty asked.

Cheryl crouched down next to the bed, reached under it and pulled out a heavy looking box. With a grunt, she lifted it up and dropped it on the bed. The box was completely black (Archie was sure it was only for the aesthetic), with a handle and a keypad set into it. It looked a little like the safe box Archie’s dad kept in his office but way more expensive and in better condition.

Archie quickly pushed all thoughts of his dad out of his mind. He was trying not to think of his dad or what happened to him. If he turned his attention to those thoughts, along with who he’d just seen (And run over) and the whole zombie apocalypse thing, he was certain he would go nuts.

“They’re in here.” She said.

“Well?” Said Archie. “Aren’t you gonna open it?”

“Um, not if you guys are looking.” Cheryl said in a ‘duh’ tone.

“ _Oh, for fucks sake._ ” Reggie mumbled, rolling his eyes. “We won’t look, Cheryl.”

With a cautious look on her face, Cheryl positioned her body in a way that completely hid the box from the others’ view and typed in the code to open the box. She opened it and pulled out two guns, her manicured nails (Red in colour. Surprise, surprise) wrapped around the grips.

“Now, now, what are you doing in here?” A voice, rough like sandpaper, spoke up. Archie screamed immediately and turned around. He would’ve been embarrassed, if the others hadn’t done the same thing.

“Calm down.” Cheryl rolled her eyes, once she realized who the intruder was. “It’s just Nana Rose.”

“You screamed too!” Betty pointed out. Cheryl didn’t say anything, simply picking up the guns she’d dropped and placing them back on the bed.

“Also, no offense, but Nana Rose if _fucking creepy.”_ Reggie said.

“Dude, how is that not offensive?” Archie asked him, to which Reggie simply shrugged.

“Nana Rose.” Cheryl started towards her grandmother but the old woman held out a withered hand.

 _“No!”_ She said firmly. “Don’t come any closer, dearie.”

“W-why not?” Cheryl stuttered. Archie had never heard her stutter before.

“Well, you see, I’ve been bitten.” Nana Rose came closer to them and there was a chorus of gasps when all eyes fell on her side. Her dress was blood stained and there was more blood spurting out. She also smelled bad. Not the old person smell that Archie would generally associate with her. She smelled like rotten meat and overripe fruit. He tried his best not to gag.

“Oh, Nana Rose.” Cheryl dropped to her knees, her hands clutching the sides of her face. “H-how did this happen to you?”

“Your mother bit me.” Nana Rose said and bizzarely, smiled.

“Wait.” Cheryl’s eyes were wide. “ _Mom_ bit you? Does—does that mean—?”

“She’s got that disease, Cheryl.” Nana Rose said. She paused to cough violently into her hand, spewing blood. Archie saw Cheryl flinch. He crouched down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Surprisingly, she didn’t pull away and immediately leaned into him.

“Your father came in, looking and acting and smelling a little weird. He didn’t speak. I was in the living room and he went straight towards the kitchen, see, where your mother was. I didn’t see much but I _heard_ plenty. There was a whole lot of screaming and growling.” Said Nana Rose. “A while later, your mother came in here…and well, she bit me.”

“Oh my god.” Cheryl whispered, her nails digging into the delicate skin of her cheeks.

“I have a feeling she would’ve eaten me too.” Said Nana Rose. “If Jason and Polly hadn’t showed up.”

“Wait, what?!” Betty exclaimed. “ _Polly_ was here?”

“Yup. They hit your mother with bats and chased her away. Then, they told me there is some disease goin’ around and it spreads by people biting—“ Nana Rose was quickly cut off by Betty.

“Yeah, yeah, we know all of that.” She said. “Where did Jason and Polly go?”

“They didn’t tell me.” Nana Rose shrugged. “I assume they had a plan.”

“Why did they even come here?” Archie wondered out loud.

“I don’t know.” Nana Rose said. “Maybe they came to pack a bag.”

Nana Rose suddenly fell forward onto the floor and began spasming wildly, her arms and legs flailing as she moaned loudly. Blood began to spew out of her mouth, along with stinky green gunk.

“We gotta go!” Archie yelled and pulled Cheryl up with him.

“No!” Cheryl shouted, trying to free her hand from his grip. “We have to help her!”

“Cheryl, there’s nothing we can do!” Archie yelled back.

“B-but she’s my grandmother!” Cheryl protested.

“Cheryl, I’m sorry, but we have to go like _right now_.” Archie said. He pulled away from her and grabbed the two guns, throwing them to Betty and Reggie, who fumbled as he caught it. He paused for a second when he realized there was only left. He could’ve sworn Cheryl had said there would be four.

Deciding not to overthink it, Archie grabbed the last gun and tucked it into his waistband. Apparently, the Blossoms thought ahead because there were several neat stacks of bullets in the box. He grabbed as many as he could and began jamming them into his pockets. He gestured for the others to come over and they began to fill their pockets with the bullets as well.

“We could’ve just taken the box, you idiots.” Cheryl said. Archie turned around to see her standing right next to them. She was pointedly not looking in Nana Rose’s direction, who was still flailing around uncontrollably.

“It would’ve been heavy.” Archie said, although, he had to admit: That would’ve saved them some time.

“Whatever.” Cheryl rolled her eyes and stuffed the last few bullets into her pocket. “Let’s go to Josie and Veronica.”

The group shuffled out of the room and Archie turned back just in time to see Nana Rose sit up. “Lock the door!” He said urgently. Cheryl slammed it shut before dragging a table in front of it.

“That ought to keep her inside for a while.” She said, dusting her hands. She paused for a second, staring at the door. There was a strange sadness in her eyes. And then she turned around and forced a smile at them. 

They made their way over to Cheryl’s closet at the same time Veronica and Josie were coming out. Veronica was now wearing a pair of jeans rolled up several times, a pair of running shoes and a white shirt under a hoodie that was too long for her small frame. Josie wore a pair of shorts, running shoes and a hoodie over a tank top.

“Hey, guys.” Veronica smiled. “Did you get the guns?”

“Yup.” Said Archie. “And plenty of bullets too.”

“Sweet.” Josie laughed. “Ready to go?”

“Hang on.” Betty said, before turning to Cheryl. “Hey, Cheryl, can I borrow something too?”

Cheryl rolled her eyes. “Knock yourself out.”

Betty hurried into the room, dragging Veronica along with her. The girls emerged minutes later with a number of backpacks (All of them were either black or red _. All of them_ ) and Betty had slipped on a pair of running shoes as well. She handed another pair to Cheryl, who switched it with her heels. _(How many running shoes did she have?!)_

“We can put the bullets in here.” Betty said, handing Archie a couple of drawstring pouches. He threw the bullets in there, before passing the pouches along to the others who did the same.

Veronica let out a low whistle. “That is a _lot_ of bullets.”

Archie frowned as he heard what sounded like a door being smashed in. He strained his ears but didn’t hear anything after that. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was probably being paranoid.

 “Should we, like, pack some food or something?” Reggie asked.

“Why?” Josie frowned at him. “I don’t think we’ll be out that long.”

“We don’t know that.” Reggie protested. “Plus, I get hungry a lot.”

“Just take whatever you want from the kitchen.” Cheryl mumbled.

“Awesome!” Reggie grinned before running downstairs. The others rolled their eyes and followed him

They took a bunch of food and water and drinks from the kitchen, stuffing them inside their backpacks. Once they had everything they needed, they made their way to the front door. They almost made it out too. But at the last minute, they heard loud growls followed by heavy footsteps.

Archie turned around just in time to see Clifford Blossom pounce on Reggie.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Hope you liked this chapter! Sorry it was a little late but I kinda hit a block. The next chapter is gonna take a while too but I'll try my best! Please leave a comment with your feedback! Thnks fr rdng


	7. Cheryl and Veronica

Veronica reacted quickly. Maybe it was a poor reaction but hey, it was better than standing and screaming, which is what everyone else did. She saw the umbrella stand near the door, lunged and grabbed the first one she saw, which happened to one with a long, pointy end.

Reggie had shoved his backpack into the zombie’s mouth and it was angrily, and sort of stupidly, biting into it. Veronica drew the umbrella back like a baseball bat and—

_THWACK._

The umbrella hit the zombie with such force that its head turned completely to the side with a sickening crack. The backpack fell out of its mouth as a lump of skin peeled off its face. It didn’t seem particularly bothered.

It lunged back at Reggie, who scrambled away from it. Veronica saw him glance at Cheryl as his hand went to his waistband. In a swift move, he had the gun out. Before anyone could object or even do anything, he had shot a hole into the zombie’s head. It collapsed, dark blood oozing out of its head.

“Oh my god.” Cheryl was staring at Reggie with wide eyes. “What have you done?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice.” Reggie spat.

“Yes, you did.” Cheryl’s eyes dropped slowly to her father’s dead body. “You—you could’ve—“

“I could’ve _what_?” Reggie snapped. “Turned into zombie lunch?”

“Shut up.” Cheryl whispered. “Just shut up.”

“Let’s get out of here.” Veronica said. “Let’s just drive out of town.”

“Hang on.” Archie said. He disappeared into the house and returned a moment later, holding a bunch of knives.

“We’re gonna need these.” He said, handing one to everyone. He handed a gun along with that to Veronica.

“Here.” He said, as she took it from him. “I can’t shoot it anyway.”

Reggie held out his gun to Cheryl too. The redheaded girl stared at the gun as if it were a ghost, then turned and left.

“Seriously, Reggie?” Betty rolled her eyes at him. “You just shot her _dad_ with that gun! How do you expect her to take it?”

“Whatever.” Reggie mumbled, tucking the gun into his waistband instead. He tugged on a jacket before he ditched his backpack, mumbling something about zombie germs, before he headed out as well.

“Well, let’s go.” Veronica said, and the others followed her out.

Cheryl sat in the driver’s seat of their stolen minivan.

Veronica turned to Josie. “I want to sit next to Cheryl.” She said. “Switch with me?”

Josie shrugged and offered a small smile. “Sure.”

Veronica climbed into the front seat next to Cheryl and slammed the door shut. She exhaled slowly before turning to the other girl. Cheryl stared straight ahead, unblinking but Veronica could see the tear stains on her cheeks.

“Cheryl…” She began softly. “I know how—“

“Stop.” Cheryl said sharply. “You know nothing, Veronica Lodge.”

“Cheryl, I’m just trying to help you.” Veronica said.

“I don’t want help.” Cheryl lifted a hand to dab at her eyes. “And I don’t need it either.”

“Cheryl, you just saw _your own father_ being—“

 _“Veronica!”_ Cheryl’s voice was shrill and fragile, on the verge of breaking. “I do _not_ want to talk about this right now, okay? It’s too soon.”

“Of course.” Veronica paused, biting her lip. “Can I give you a hug though?”

“Yes, please.” Cheryl said and turned to Veronica, wrapping her arms around the tiny girl’s body. Veronica ran her hands along Cheryl’s shuddering shoulders as the other girl buried her head in the crook of her neck.

“I’m sorry, Cheryl.” Veronica said softly. “I’m so, so sorry.”

She felt Cheryl nod in response. They pulled away slowly, looking into each other’s eyes. Then Cheryl quickly leaned forward, brushing a kiss against Veronica’s cheeks, dangerously close to her lips.

“Thank you.” Cheryl whispered, before turning back to the steering wheel.

 _“Ahem.”_ Veronica turned around to see Betty glaring at her. “Can we go now?”

Reggie, Archie and Josie were watching the exchange with amused looks on their faces.

“You jealous, Bets?” Veronica cocked an eyebrow at the blonde girl.

Betty blushed bright red. “Why would I be jealous?” She mumbled, turning away.

Veronica smirked, turning back to the front.

“Okay, so where are we going now?” Cheryl asked.

“Out of town.” Reggie said. He sat alone in the back seat, while Josie, Archie and Betty sat in the middle. He looked pale and sweaty, Veronica noticed. He was probably still shaken from his near-death experience and killing someone. Veronica wondered how he wasn’t breaking down.

Cheryl didn’t respond. She simply started the car and drove.

“I can’t believe we’re leaving Riverdale.” Archie said softly, after they’d been driving in silence for a while. They were almost out. In fact, they were very close to the town’s edge.

“I know.” Betty said. “Where would we even go?”

“People will probably help us, right?” Veronica said. “Let’s just go to the closest town and find the police station and tell them what’s going on.”

There was a pause before Josie spoke up.

“Do you think they’ll believe us?” She asked.

“What do you mean? Of course they’ll believe us.” Veronica frowned.

“I hope so.” Josie responded and went quiet, turning away.

Veronica furrowed her eyebrows, looking around at all of them. All of them wore matching expressions of sadness, a deep sadness that she couldn’t quite understand.

“Guys, why are you all so upset?” She asked.

“We’re losing everything, Ronnie.” Betty whispered, looking at her. “Our families, our homes, our _lives_. I mean, you’re losing your mom too. Aren’t you upset about that?”

“Well, to be honest, I’ve been doing my best to avoid thinking about that and—“ Veronica paused, her gaze fixed on Reggie.

“Reggie?” She said. “You okay?”

He gave a low grunt in response and curled up in a ball, his hand scratching at his shoulder. 

“Reggie?” Veronica repeated. Everyone was staring at him now.

“Maybe he’s asleep?” Josie suggested.

“I don’t know…” Veronica trailed off. She was slightly suspicious now, but didn’t want to voice her thoughts.

“Um, guys?” Cheryl said, but no one paid any attention, focusing on Reggie instead.

 _“Guys!”_ Cheryl repeated louder.

Veronica turned to look at her—and gasped, her eyes widening in horror.

They were surrounded by zombies, closing in on them from all directions. There was a huge mob in the front and more emerging from the buildings in the sides and a few following behind them. Some moved sluggishly slow, some ran at them at full speed.

“Oh my god.” Betty breathed. She leaned forward, pointing. “Look.”

Veronica didn’t have to squint to look. Beyond the crowd of zombies, there was long, tall and thick fence, made out of barbed wire. A fence she’d never seen before. A fence that hadn’t been there a day ago. A fence that prevented them from leaving.

“Oh my god.” Veronica whispered. Her own voice sounded far away. She felt the blood rushing to her head.

“Cheryl, turn around!” Archie yelled, his voice sounding as if he was speaking underwater. “Drive, Cheryl! Go!”

Veronica smashed into the side of the car as Cheryl jerked it around. There were so many of them. So many zombies. They were everywhere she looked. Their numbers seemed to be increasing every time she blinked. She raised a hand to clutch her spinning head. She heard Betty say her name, followed by something else she couldn’t hear. She raised her eyes to the road, watching the zombies get closer, closer…she could vaguely hear some growling and yelling in the back of the car…

Everything went black just before Cheryl crashed into a zombie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Yay I updated! So what did you guys think of this chapter? Tell me in the comments 'cause I'm always a slut for feedback! Also, I originally started writing this on Tumblr so if you would like to follow me there, my url is rinithereject and my blog title is Meme Queen. Thnks fr rdng


	8. Betty and Veronica

Betty screamed, leaning away as Reggie lunged at her. He was no longer the handsome boy she knew. In a matter of minutes, his skin had gone from tan and healthy to a sickly pale. His eyes were rimmed red, a manic glint in them as drool slobbered out of his mouth. He tackled her and she fell to the car’s floor as Reggie tried to attack her from the seat.

She quickly wrapped her hands around his neck, holding him at a distance as he thrashed and tried to get closer. Betty gritted her teeth, throwing a look at Archie and Josie that screamed HELP.

 She wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted to defend herself but she couldn’t hurt him. He was her friend, although he was no longer himself.

“Let’s throw him out!” Archie yelled.

“We can’t do that!” Josie yelled back. “It’s _Reggie!”_

“No, it isn’t!” Archie protested. “Betty, open your door!”

She slowly removed one of her hands, reaching up to unlock the door as her other arm strained with the effort to hold Reggie in place. The door flew open with a gust of air and the sudden breeze lifted Reggie’s shirt, revealing a strip of his stomach (it was paler than his face, a faint green tint to it) and his gun. With a grunt, Betty reached out and grabbed the gun just before Archie drew his foot back and kicked Reggie on his side, sending him sprawling out of the car. He landed hard on the asphalt, his groans mixing with those of a hundred other zombies.

Betty bolted up and slammed the door shut, before any of the zombies could reach them. She shoved the gun into her backpack.

 _“Woah.”_ She mumbled, collapsing on her seat.

Archie collapsed next to her. “Did we just—?”  

“Yeah.” Betty whispered, her eyes glued on Reggie as Cheryl drove further and further away.

“Conceal, don’t feel.” Josie said. “Repress the shit out of it until it’s safe to break down.”

“Everything okay back there?” Cheryl asked, her voice shaky. She swerved to avoid a zombie but ended up running over two others.

“Fine.” Josie responded. “We’re fine.”

“Good.” She could see Cheryl nod. “Then wake Veronica up, will you?”

“What?” Archie frowned, confused.

“She blacked out.” Cheryl responded.

Betty reached over, placing a hand on Veronica’s shoulder. “Ronnie?” She said softly, shaking the sleeping girl. Veronica stirred but didn’t open her eyes. “Ronnie!” Betty repeated, shaking her harder. The other girl didn’t move.

“She’s not waking up!” Betty exclaimed, panicking.

“Is she breathing?” Josie asked.

“Yeah.” Betty replied. She could see the rise and fall of Veronica’s chest.

“Then she’s alive.” Josie said. “She’ll come around soon.”

“Okay.” Betty mumbled, sinking back into her seat. “She’ll be okay.”

She knew Veronica would be okay but she still couldn’t help the heavy feeling in her stomach and the whispered words in her head, telling her maybe it wouldn’t be okay. She dug her fingers into her palms, the pain rushing through her. She made herself focus on the pain and slowly, she stopped worrying about Veronica. The knot in her stomach loosened. But it was back, tighter than ever when she glanced at the bloody marks on her palms, for a whole other reason.

“Betty?” Josie’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. “You okay?”

“Fine.” Betty forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

She took a breath before she leaned forward towards Cheryl. “So, where are we going now?”

“I don’t know.” Cheryl mumbled. The zombies were surrounding them now. Cheryl jerked the car this way and that and ran over several zombies multiple times. But it was still no match to the zombies’ growing number. “I’m just trying to get us out of this horde.”

“Maybe we should go back to the—“ Josie’s words were cut off by a shrill shriek from Cheryl.  It was immediately followed by a sudden surge of speed. So sudden, in fact, that Veronica jolted awake.

“Woah.” She gasped. “What is going on?”

“Shh.” Cheryl removed one hand from the steering wheel and covered Veronica’s eyes. “Go back to sleep, Ronniekins.”

Betty climbed over the seat and plopped down in between Cheryl and Veronica, forcing Cheryl to remove her hand. She noticed the redhead shoot her a dirty look before she struck up a conversation with Josie and Archie Betty didn’t bother listening to. She ignored her, turning to Veronica with a grin. The raven haired girl had an amused smirk on her face.

“Hey, there, B.” Veronica said.

“Ronnie.” Betty breathed and threw her arms around Veronica. “I was worried.”

Veronica laughed softly and Betty closed her eyes, savoring the moment. She slowly breathed in, Veronica’s scent the sweetest thing she had smelled. Her perfume, chocolate, fresh clothes and something else that was just _Veronica_.

“I’m okay, Betty.”  Veronica smiled. Betty smiled back and slowly but surely, her eyes dipped to the other’s girl’s soft, red lips.

Betty realized she wanted to kiss her.

The sudden realization made her snap her gaze away. She inconspicuously shifted away from Veronica, trying not to think of placing her lips on hers. She noticed her frowning slightly out of the corner of her eye.

“I have some bad news.” Cheryl spoke up.

“What is it?” Josie asked.

“We’re about to run out of gas…uh, pretty soon.” Cheryl said.

 _“What?”_ The rest of them chorused.

“You’re only noticing this now?” Veronica demanded.

“I noticed a while ago.” Cheryl snapped. “I didn’t want to alarm you guys. That’s why I was speeding the hell out of there. At least, there are lesser zombies around here?”

 _“Oh my god.”_ Veronica said.

“Oh my god.” Josie echoed.

“What are going to _do_?” Archie fretted.

“Run for our lives?” Betty suggested.

“We have about 3 minutes to come up with a sort of vague plan.” Cheryl announced.

“Okay, I got this.” Veronica took a deep breath. “Listen up.”

Everyone turned to look at her, giving her their undivided attention, except for Cheryl whose attention was divided because she was trying her hardest to run over as many zombies as she could. Betty was struck with the sudden realization that all of these zombies they carelessly killed were once people and shuddered. She forced the thought out of her head and focused on Veronica.

“We’ll head back to the school. That is the safest place right now. We’ll regroup with Kevin and Jughead and try to figure things out. We have three guns. Cheryl, Betty and I will be taking them, along with a few bullets to reload. Archie and Josie, you guys will take your knives. Keep one in each hand and maybe one more tucked into your jeans or something. You will stick to the middle. Cheryl, since you’re the most experienced shooter, you will lead us. I’ll take both the sides and Betty, you’ll bring up the rear and take out the zombies attacking from behind. Archie, Josie, you guys will be in between all of us, okay? The order is Cheryl, Josie, Me, Archie and Betty. Try to stick close to each other but occupy enough space that the zombies can’t get _too_ close to us. We’ll try to take out most of the zombies from afar and the knives are necessary only when a zombie gets too close. Hopefully, that won’t happen. Be prepared for everything, though.  We don’t know how many more are going to arrive any second. As long as we stay together and watch each other’s backs, we’ll make it out of this.” Veronica said.

 The others nodded in response. They trusted this tiny but brave girl to get them out of this mess.

Just after she finished speaking, the car broke down.

“This is it, guys.” Veronica said. She looked around at all of them, a grim smile on her face. “Good luck.”

“Veronica, wait.” Betty grabbed her arm as she turned to open her door, spinning her around to face her. She looked into her deep brown eyes and she knew she had to do it, right here, right now. It didn’t matter that all of her friends were there and that there were zombies crawling outside and they could be dead in ten minutes. _All that mattered was Veronica Lodge._

With her heart pounding in her chest, Betty leaned forward and pressed her lips to Veronica’s. Betty felt her gasp against her lips before she reciprocated, her hands reaching up to caress her hair as Betty cupped her cheek. She wanted to stay in that moment forever, tasting Veronica’s sweet, sweet lips, inhaling her wonderful scent and touching her soft skin as energy surged throw her, bursting and crackling like fireworks. She wrapped her other arm around Veronica’s waist, holding her as close as she could.

They broke apart several moments later, both of their eyes alight with happiness and cheeks flushed pink. Veronica leaned her forehead against Betty’s, breathing hard. Betty smiled at her, giddy with happiness.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long, Ronnie.” Betty whispered, delicately running her fingers over Veronica’s cheek.

“Me too.” Veronica whispered back, her smile so bright it could have lit up the entire world.      

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi sorry this was so late. I wrote it a while ago but didn't want to publish it because I hit a block while writing the next chapter. I don't know when I'll update next but I'm trying to. Thnks fr rdng.


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